Through Her Eyes
by EmeraldMoonStar
Summary: Sasuke doesn't understand why Sakura acts the way she does, so Ino offers him a way that will let him know her completely, without Sakura ever having a clue. SasuSaku with a friend's only SasuIno. Rated T for later on.
1. Ino Knows Best

**I've had this idea for a while, and I would've put it up sooner, but....ugh finals. Luckily, I found time to get it up, rather than studying like I should've been... Anyhoozle, enjoy!**

**There's a slight Au to this one.. Instead of The Sasuke Retrieval groups taking two days, in this it took two weeks. Not a huge change, but it will make sense as you read.**

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Haruno Sakura was in the hospital in critical condition. And it was all Uchiha Sasuke's fault.

He was currently sitting outside the emergency room with Yamanaka Ino sitting across from him, glaring up a storm. She had every right to. It _was_ his fault they were here in the first place.

_It was his first mission since his probation ended. He had allowed Naruto and Sakura to defeat him, so that he could return to Konoha, though Naruto and Sakura said very differently. Team Hebi had really gotten on his nerves, and the still incomplete Team 7 was a perfect excuse. Avoiding getting raped every night was not the most fun activity in the world._

_He and Sakura just had to track down a group of rogue ninja that had been causing trouble, and take them out. A pretty low mission for a bunch of 16 year olds. _

_Tracking the dimwits had been almost too easy. Even an academy student could cover their tracks better than these guys. They had been traveling in the middle of the road, not even keeping their guard up. _

_Fighting was where the problem popped up. Not only were the shinobi talented fighters, but he and Sakura were out of sync as well. Normally, Sakura would be the one at fault, but both were to blame. They had decided against combo attacks, and each took half of the ninja._

_Sasuke had been doing well, only one of 'his' half remained, but of course that one happened to be the best fighter. Within a few minutes, Sasuke had been caught in a paralyzing jutsu. His opponent had then taken several kunai out of his pouch and aimed them at the vital areas. Sasuke struggled against the jutsu, but it was to no avail. He was a goner. He shut his eyes in defeat. It would save Sakura the trouble of doing so later._

_When he felt no pain, he opened his eyes. He was covered in blood, and there was blood all over the ground, which he had expected, but there was one problem; it wasn't his blood._

_Sakura stood in front of him with his previous opponent slumped over her delicate figure, dead. She threw him off as though he was little more than a piece of dirt. Sasuke actually thought everything was ok, but then Sakura turned around. His eyes widened in horror._

_Sakura had kunai sticking out of her everywhere, as if they were growths. Blood was pouring out of her wounds like a broken dam. Her legs were shaking terribly in a feeble effort to stay standing. Despite this, she was smiling the most beautiful smile at him. The only thing wrecking the moment was the trickle of blood coming out of her mouth and dripping on her chin._

"_Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?" Her speech was surprisingly clear, though quiet. "None of those kunai hit you?" Sasuke only shook his head as a response. After scanning the area for any more ninja, he turned back to Sakura._

" _I'm taking you to the hospital." As he said so, he took Sakura's arm and draped it over his shoulder, and put his arm around her waist for support. She weakly protested but Sasuke ignored her._

_They had slowly limped about a quarter of a mile before Sakura collapsed from blood loss. Sasuke scooped her up in his arms and raced to Konoha._

Ino had forced this information out of him, while visibly having to restrain herself from murdering him on the spot. The fact that she was only glaring was a miracle in itself. Sasuke wasn't one for chitchat, but calming down Ino seemed like a very good idea, the sooner, the better.

"Why does she do that anyway?" Ino blinked in confusion.

"Who?" Her answer was Sasuke jerking his head towards the emergency room. She actually smiled at him.

" Sakura has always done that as long as I can remember, as well as her." Ino looked as though she was remembering something fondly. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the last part of her statement.

"Oh, Shitenshin can allow me to enter a person's memories for interrogation purposes," she explained, "With Sakura, though, I had her consent, or else I wouldn't be able to do it."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to blink in confusion. "I always understood that Shitenshin took over the opponents mind, rendering them not responsible for their actions." Ino nodded, and Sasuke went on. "It is a jutsu that cannot be escaped, unless the user cancels it."

"Ah, that's normally correct. Kudos to you, Sasuke!" Her face now became more serious. "Sakura has two minds, and I can only take over her conscious, or dominant mind, leaving me vulnerable to the wrath of the remaining mind. Sakura cannot be harmed by mind-altering jutsus."

This surprised Sasuke. He had expected some huge rant about invading your friend's privacy, not that Ino was actually unable to do that. Sakura had a defense that Sasuke could never have. What was this feeling...jealousy?

"She has two minds," he said slowly, to make sure he heard correctly. Ino nodded the affirmative.

"I found out the hard way during our first Chuunin Exam. I was nearly killed by her other mind, 'Inner Sakura'. It was by far the scariest thing that has ever happened to me." She shuddered at the memory. It was almost as though she could feel those hands crushing her, all over again.

Now this Sasuke wouldn't have known. Kakashi had made sure that the medical team had taken him away, and were treating him. All he had known was that Sakura had had to fight Ino, and that the result was a tie. At the time, Sakura's loss hadn't surprised him in the slightest. The fact that she had taken Ino down with her was slightly more shocking, but nothing for him to even suspect that something might be different with Sakura.

"Why were you going through her memories?" Even with Ino's explanation, he still didn't understand why Ino would want to in the first place. Ino already knew more about Sakura than anyone else, so why need to know even more?

This question made the glaring start all over again. Sasuke knew the answer before Ino even said.

"When you left, she was a wreck," she said sadly, " I mean, I was upset, but nothing like her. I wondered how she could be so torn apart when you hardly paid attention to her. She said I wouldn't understand, unless I had been there. When I said that I could be, she didn't even put up a fight." Ino looked at her knees. Just remembering Sakura's heartbroken expression was making it hard for her to keep a straight face. "Even 'Inner Sakura' didn't try to boot me out. That mind looked exactly like the one that everyone knows."

Sasuke shut his eyes tightly. He when he left all those years ago, he had figured that Sakura would be upset, but so much so that Ino would try to help…what he had done was almost torture.

Ino now looked up at Sasuke. "Shitenshin works the other way as well," Sasuke opened his eyes and stared at Ino with an expectant expression.

"I can show you my memories, and since Sakura's memories were so…potent, they are unspoiled."

Sasuke shook his head in rejection at this. Potent to Ino was different that potent to Sasuke. A stray cat might be potent to her, whereas Sasuke wouldn't give the cat a second glance.

The next thing he saw was very strange. Ino was smirking in the oddest way, as if she was trying to imitate his own infamous one, but she had mixed her own cocky one in as well. Ignoring his now raised eyebrow, Ino decided to test him.

"If you know enough about Sakura to not want to see through her eyes, please tell me why she cut her hair."

Sasuke remembered the event. He had woken up in that forest feeling raw, undiminished power flowing through his veins. The feeling had been so wonderful after being defeated by Orochimaru. Then he had seen Sakura.

Her body was beaten and bruised. There were moderate kunai injuries to her arms and legs, and she had some head trauma, but the thing he had noticed first was her lack of hair. He had seen pile of pink hair near the Oto kunoichi, and knew that the one who had hurt the owner of it was in some serious trouble. Oh, the rage he felt when the one who had hurt her was boasting about it. The fact that he didn't murder the idiot then and there was lucky for him. Sakura had stopped him before he could do anything else. After the Oto nin left, Naruto had woken up, ran towards Sakura and asked about her hair. Sakura had said…

" 'Just changing my image. An image change," he quoted confidently. "She said that long hair got in the way when she was in a forest."

Ino started to laugh at his answer, which caused him to narrow his eyes. "So she told you the same as Naruto! I thought she'd tell you the real reason why later when he wasn't around."

Real reason?

Ino continued, "Clearly you don't know Sakura. You should see everything Team 7 did as she did. You'd be able to hear her thoughts, including 'Inner Sakura's' as well. It showed me why 'Inner Sakura' existed, and made her easier to control afterwards."

Sasuke frowned. Ino wasn't making any sense. If Sakura was so depressed, controlling her should have been easy already.

"Afterwards?"

"Lee and I had a very tough time with her. We had to keep her under our watch constantly, so much so that we'd only let her use windowless bathrooms." When Sasuke gave her a look telling her to explain, Ino said forcefully, "She tried to kill herself."

Sasuke's jaw actually dropped, even if only for a second. His eyes were wide at the mere thought of Sakura dead, let alone by her own hand.

Ino saw this reaction as reason to keep going. " She and Lee would stay at my house, and Lee and I were on shifts to make sure that Sakura hadn't left. Every night, though, she would manage to escape, but we'd always stop her just in time."

"About a week after you left, after stopping her from committing suicide, I remember saying, 'Sakura, Naruto will bring him back, and if you do this, you will never see Sasuke-kun ever again!'" Ino gave Sasuke a thoughtful look, though the anger underneath it was evident. "That got her stable enough to where she wouldn't sneak off to try and kill herself. That's when Lee left to try and help find you. He had refused to go until Sakura was at least sane again. I tried to convince Sakura to grant him a date since he was so nice, but she never did…" Ino coughed, slightly embarrassed that she got off topic.

"Sakura began to train like crazy. I didn't have to watch her 24/7 anymore, but she would still spend the night at my place. Most nights she wouldn't show up, so I'd have to look for her. She'd be on the training fields, unconscious and barely alive." Ino sighed in an annoyed kind of way. "When she wasn't trying to kill herself purposely, it was happening on accident. Then when Naruto came back empty-handed… Well, she looked and acted fine, but in her mind were her real feelings. I've never felt such raw pain like that since," she concluded.

When Sakura had said she'd do anything for him, Sasuke thought of it as an empty promise of one was merely infatuated. Clearly, he had been very wrong. If he had known that Sakura would try to kill herself if he left, he wouldn't have done it. A close friend dying because of him…he couldn't bear it.

"I'll see," he said finally, "I'll see her memories." Ino smiled her first genuine smile at Sasuke for the first time in weeks.

"You won't be disappointed. Now, I'll be in control of only one of your senses; your sight. You need to stay put, or you will get very disoriented. Understood?" Sasuke nodded.

"Ninpou: Shitenshin no Jutsu!"

Sasuke didn't feel any different initially. The only reason he knew Ino had done anything was that her body had gone limp, and lifeless; like a doll.

'Sasuke, it's Ino. The jutsu worked!' It sounded like Ino was talking to him normally, but he was the only one who heard her. Sasuke frowned at the sensation.

'No wonder she said this was disorienting,' he thought bitterly.

'I heard that!' was her snappy response. ' Now before you come up with anything else clever, I'll show you how Sakura really saw.'

_Suddenly, Sasuke was no longer in the hospital. He saw the outside of the academy in the distance, and he was sitting on a stone bench with his head in his hands. Only they didn't feel like his hands, they felt much too feminine. And the hair in his face was much too pink to be his own._

'Okay, Sasuke, we're in,' Ino assured him, 'I won't interrupt, so you can form opinions on your own. You will now feel what Sakura felt, hear what she heard, see what saw, hear her thoughts…Basically, you are Sakura.'

_Ino's presence seemed to diminish and he now heard Sakura._

'_Even if I wanted to seduce him, my figures are below average. Only the width of my forehead is above average. How can I…'_

_Sakura jerked her head upwards to see Sasuke staring at her with a small smile on his face._

'_What?! For real?' Sakura perked up immediately. 'Sasuke-kun's looking at me! And he's looking at me with such intensity.' Sakura turned her head away, and blushed shyly, similar to Hinata._

_Sakura then started to daydream about her and Sasuke. Sasuke was saying how her forehead was charming and that he wanted to kiss it. Sakura felt a surge of happiness, but it was short-lived._

_Snapping out of it, Sakura came back to the real world. 'Who I am, a kid who still believes in fairy tales? That would never happen.'_

"_You have such a wide, charming forehead." Sakura head shot up to look at the now approaching Sasuke. "It makes me want to kiss it." Sakura gave Sasuke a look full of hope, her eyes shining._

'_**Shannaro! It's a fairy tale situation!' **__Inner Sakura cheered on her outer self._

"_Not. Only Naruto would say something like that." Sakura slumped in disappointment. Of course it was too good to be true._

_Oddly, Sasuke came over and sat beside her._

"_I wanted to ask you something," he said. Sakura looked over at him in curiosity. "What do you think of Naruto?"_

'_Well that's an odd question,' she thought rather confused._

"_He's become accustom to interfering with my love. He's having fun looking at me having trouble. Naruto knows nothing about me. He's just annoying," she finished darkly while Sasuke watched her._

_Sakura changed the subject. "I just want you to accept me, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke repeated her statement as a question while looking confused and rather taken aback._

_Sakura blushed at the sudden attention she was getting. "I'll do anything…" Then she leaned in to kiss him. She allowed her eyes to flicker shut and tried to think coherent thoughts. Her heart was racing, her palms were sweating slightly, Inner Sakura had grabbed pompoms, and she somehow had to not miss Sasuke's lips with all that going on. When Sasuke didn't run off, or tell her to stop, she saw this as a signal to keep going. She imagined she felt his breath on her face, as though he was leaning in as well. No, she wasn't imagining it! _

_Wait, he simply wasn't moving, so logically, if she were close enough, she would feel his breath. Deciding that she should probably invoke a reaction out of him before trying to kiss him, Sakura stopped leaning forward, but she didn't retreat._

"_I'm desperate," she whispered, her blush still tainting her cheeks a beautiful rose color. For a second, he still didn't move. Sakura sat there waiting for some kind of response, when she felt his breath on her face much more prominently than before. He was getting closer!_

_Sakura resumed her previous movement, as though she had not stopped. As their lips were a hair apart, Sasuke suddenly jumped back in alarm. He leapt to his feet and ran off in the opposite direction of the academy clutching his navel. Now Sakura opened her eyes and was staring after him in confusion._

"_What's wrong?" She had said it loud enough to where she knew he would hear her._

"_I'll be right back," he called back to her, and raised his hand in a waving gesture while he ran. Sakura sat there staring after him with adoration written all over her face._

"_Sasuke-kun is such a shy guy." She raised a finger to her lip in thought. "I wonder if he needs to settle his feelings?"_

_It had been a few minutes and Sakura had her hands on her knees, and was patiently waiting for Sasuke to come back. She had been contemplating why he would run off, and began to analyze his previous actions and compare it to everything she knew about the human psyche. Sasuke was walking his usual confident gait, and was walking towards the academy. Sakura noticed and stood up excitedly._

"_Sasuke-kun, you're such a shy guy!" She was almost squealing in pure delight. "Are you emotionally prepared? I am." While she had been saying this, Sasuke had kept walking, not even glancing at her. He had walked right past her without even acknowledging her._

"_W…Wait," she stuttered, not prepared for his coldness after he had been so nice before. "Sasuke-kun."_

_Only now did he stop to look at her from over his shoulder. He completely disregarded what she had said._

"_Where's Naruto?" his voice lacked any kind of emotion. Sakura had her arms behind her back in a nervous way. She wasn't sure how to get back to the moment that he almost kissed her._

"_Changing the subject again? Forget about Naruto." Sakura now looked rather cross and had her finger in the air, as if she was lecturing a small child. "All he does is pick quarrels with you. It's probably because he's had such an irregular childhood," she said haughtily. Sasuke shook his head in disagreement; there was no way that was the only reason._

"_Oh, yeah, you know how he doesn't have any parents, right?" This appeared to have struck a nerve with Sasuke, as he turned to face her more, and was glaring. _

_Sakura continued nonetheless, "He's always doing selfish things. My parents would scold me if I did such things." Her hands were on her hips now, and she looked pretty sure of herself. Sasuke's glare only turned angrier, and his eyes were narrowed into slits._

"_If you're alone, your parents wouldn't get mad at you. That's why he's so selfish," she concluded rather confidently._

_The wind started to pick up, and was blowing leaves off of the trees. They were blowing around the pair of graduates gently, while making their hair flutter in the breeze._

"_The solitude," Sasuke finally replied darkly._

"_What?"_

_He was no longing facing her as he continued in the same dark tone. "You can't even compare it to the level of shame when your parents get mad at you."_

_Sakura looked concerned at his answer and probed gently, "What's the matter?"_

_Sasuke now turned to face her with a positively unfriendly expression. "You're annoying." Sakura made a surprised noise in the back of her throat. With that, he marched off towards the academy without a back glance. Sakura stayed frozen in place after he left with the wind blowing more violently now._

_She was once again sitting on the bench, slouched in defeat. He hands were in her lap, and she looked miserable._

' '_You're annoying huh?' I see. Naruto must've felt the same way.' Sakura was going over what Sasuke had said, and compared it to what she had said to Naruto earlier that day. Sakura now was thinking out loud._

"_Maybe I can be nicer starting now._

That was when the vision faded. Sasuke blinked a few times when the hospital walls had appeared before him again. He knew that there was more to await him, seeing as Ino was still unconscious. She had been right; he was not disappointed. Sakura seemed much more like a human being, rather than a nuisance.

Now he also understood that she had to deal with someone talking in her head every minute of every day. In retrospect, that would fit her sometimes-scatterbrained defense attempts. Sasuke didn't think she was crazy, but it was definitely not normal. This 'Inner Sakura' seemed to feel stronger emotions that the Outer Sakura let on.

The Sakura he knew was very different from the Sakura he had just witnessed. The one he had witnessed seemed rather unsure of herself, only confident in her intelligence. Her self-image was not at a healthy level. She might even pass for depressed.

Sasuke frowned at the beginning of the memory. He remembered the last part of their conversation, but for the life of him, he could not remember ever trying to kiss Sakura. Also, why on Earth would he care what Sakura thought of Naruto? That wouldn't affect him in any way at all. At the time, he didn't care about Sakura at all. Then it clicked; Naruto. That's what he did when Sasuke was tied up. When he had run away from Sakura, he must've had the same stomachache when he had run away from Sasuke. Before Sasuke could even begin to think about just how he should kill the dobe, Ino's thoughts appeared in his mind again.

'Sasuke, I hoped you learned something from that. Next, I will take you to the following morning.' Sasuke just leaned back and waited for the next vision to appear.

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**I originally intended for this to be a one-shot, but it'd have ended up as one hell of a long one-shot, so it'll be in chapters!**

**Reviews make me happy and more inclined to skimp off studying to update (that doesn't mean don't review just so I'll study! You can't make me do it!). Reviewers get cookies!**


	2. Wind Equals Dead Sasuke?

**Well, I go the results of my finals and I passed! Yay! Don't like my new classes though...Anyhoozle, thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them! Hope you like this chapter!**

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'Ok, Sasuke, Ino again.' Ino's voice popped into Sasuke's head. He was still seeing the hospital, so he figured that this little _experience _was far from over. ' This is during Team 7's bell test. You have just thrown shuriken at Kakashi-sensei to find out that it was a kawarimi, and because of your mistake you fled to avoid being found.'

_Sakura was now running as fast as her feet would carry her. She was pushing through tree branches and brush miraculously not tripping over anything. Her thoughts were frantic._

'_Where is Sasuke-kun? Did sensei already get him…?' She shook her head at the thought. 'No, that can't happen to Sasuke-kun.'_

_She gasped suddenly. Kakashi was barely two yards in front of her. Fortunately, he appeared to be too engrossed in his reading to even notice Sakura's presence. Nevertheless, Sakura ducked down behind the brushes and watched carefully._

_'I'm safe! He didn't notice me.' She relaxed knowing that she was in no immediate danger. It was short-lived however._

_"Sakura, behind you," said a voice far too deep to be Sasuke's or Naruto's. Sakura made a surprised noise in the back of her throat before turning around. She whipped around to see Kakashi standing about two feet from her. She did what came naturally to most people at receiving a shock like that._

_She screamed. It wasn't a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream; it was more along the lines of a yell._

_Kakashi then put his hands into a seal. The bushes around him and Sakura moved to completely conceal him. In Sakura's case, it became extremely windy and her hair blew about rather strongly. When the wind stopped, she found herself in a clearing, alone._

_"What? What was that? Hey where did sensei go," she asked while turning her head left and right, clearly disoriented. "What's going on? What the?" Her ramblings were cut short when she heard a familiar voice._

_"Sakura…"_

_Instantly, Sakura turned to where the voice came from. She was smiling and sounded very cheerful now that she found who she was looking for. "Sasuke-kun?"_

_There Sasuke was, sitting at the base of a tree in the most horrifying form Sakura could have ever imagined. He was drenched in his own blood, with kunai sticking out of his body everywhere. His leg was bent at such an angle that she knew it was broken. He was weakly holding onto the tree for enough support to be able to sit up._

_"Sakura…Help me…" It was the weakest sound Sakura had ever heard. She froze in terror. Her worst nightmare had happened; Sasuke was dying. Her eyes watered at the realization and her hands shook violently. She screamed again, but this time it was more frightened. She sounded as though she was in some major trouble, as someone who has been hurt might scream. Her knees gave out and she fell onto her back unconscious._

_After a few minutes, Sakura sat up with a dazed expression on her face. Her hair was messed up a bit and her clothing was wrinkled._

_"Huh? What was I…?" She cut herself off when she realized the position she was in. Her legs were spread far apart in a rather suggestive way. She hastily brought them together with a small red tint appearing on her cheeks. That distraction allowed her to try and remember how she ended up where she was._

_"Oh yes, I saw Sasuke-kun badly injured and I…" She cut herself off again and leapt to her feet when she remembered how serious the situation was. She was now in another state of alarm._

_"Sasuke-kun! Don't die and leave me behind," she cried out in desperation. "Where are you?!" Sakura took off running again with the same goal she had the first time, only with her nerves frayed this time around._

_After what seemed like forever, Sakura burst out into yet another clearing, and after mentally cursing all the clearings in the Fire Country, saw the strangest thing._

_Sure she had been worried that she'd find Sasuke in pieces, but not with his head sitting on the ground. Luckily, his head was resting on the bottom of his neck, so she was spared the gruesome details of how he had become decapitated. She froze. Telling herself that there was no way Sasuke could've had this happen to her, and even if it did, he definitely couldn't be look right at her! She looked away for a second, and then looked back cautiously to check if her eyes were working properly. The second glance only made it worse._

_"Sakura," Sasuke called to her, sounding like he wanted to ask her something, probably for some help, or where Kakashi was. She would never find out, though. She was so jumpy that she started to yell in hysteria._

_"Now it's a severed head!" With that, she promptly fainted again and lay on her back, in no better shape than the first time._

_This time, though, when she woke up, her view was much better and she didn't suspect that something illicit had happened to her. Sasuke was leaning over her, probably to check whether or not she was all right. What really surprised her was the fact that Sasuke was relatively unharmed. She blinked a few times to clear her sight._

_"Sasuke-kun?" She figured she'd check considering all the things she'd seen of Sasuke that day, because this was very likely a hallucination, or Inner Sakura's fantasies. When he didn't say anything, whereas most people would make some indication that they had heard you, Sakura knew._

_She sat up much faster than most people thought possible for her and hugged Sasuke in relief. "You were okay!" Her voice was higher pitched than usual she was so joyful._

_Surprised by her sudden movement, Sasuke allowed this for about a second. Then he brought both of his hands to the side of her head and tried to pull her off of him. "Don't get so close." Despite his words, she clung to him in fear that he would vanish if she didn't._

_Sasuke stood up and looked at the sky with a calculating look on his face. "There's little time left until noon. I'm going," he said not sounding as if he even cared what Sakura chose to do. He started to walk away towards the other side of what Sakura noted to be another damned clearing._

_"Sasuke-kun, are you still going after the bell?" Sakura was honestly confused by this. If he ended up bodiless the last time he tried to get the bell, what was the sense in trying again when Kakashi would be even less amused by his tactics?_

_Oddly enough, he stopped when she had finished. " I was able to touch it a while ago," he actually turned around to answer her and his face gave away little emotion, though he did seem to be proud of himself for achieving at least that much on his first go. "I can get it next time."_

_"What?" Sakura now looked at him with wonder in her eyes. She closed them when she answered him. " Is that so? You're amazing Sasuke-kun." She laughed lightly and looked rather cheerful. Inner Sakura on the other hand, was having a field day._

_**'Shoot! I can't get a bell from that teacher!' **__Inner Sakura was clutching her head in desperation and groaning. __**' At this rate, I'm going to be separated from Sasuke-kun!'**_

"Um…Since we have little time left, why don't we try harder next time and give up for now?" She suggested this carefully. It didn't matter much to her; she would go along with whatever Sasuke wanted. This way he would at least not have Kakashi humiliate him more, so it made perfect sense to Sakura.

_Sasuke snapped his head over to Sakura and gave her a harsh glare, almost as if it was a reflex. Sakura gasped under the intensity of his gaze. Sasuke turned so that he was no longer facing Sakura, but he didn't walk off. Sakura deflated, knowing that what he did was a way to create distance between them. It appeared lots of subjects were touchy with Sasuke. Parents, giving up…what was the relation between the two?_

_The wind started to pick up and Sakura had half mind for Sasuke to drop dead in front of her, since that had happened the last time it was windy. She decided against hugging him again, because he seemed to be angry with her again. She wasn't even sure how to make him happy. If she knew, she would have done it._

_"Only I can kill that man," Sasuke muttered darkly still not facing Sakura._

_"What…? You mean sensei?" She looked after him in confusion. She realized that Sasuke would be bitter from his defeat, but enough to kill sensei?_

_Sasuke appeared to be in his own world. "I was crying at the time…" his tone was now dazed and seemed to have not heard Sakura._

_"Crying…?" Sakura now wondered just how important breakfast was to Sasuke, if he was acting this strangely without it. She tended to be a bit irritable, but at least her sentences made sense. She couldn't even imagine Sasuke crying, except for when he was a baby._

_"My.." His voice faded as the end of the statement drifted away._

"What? What are you talking about?" She was speaking gently, with a very concerned look on her face. Sasuke never talked to her. The fact that he had even taken the time to insult her the day before was a bit strange. Inwardly, she scowled. She had been that annoying yesterday?

_But now, not only was he speaking in sentences longer than two words, he was admitting that someone had made him cry, and that he wasn't as stable as everyone assumed him to be. Sakura felt a surge of pity for Sasuke. No wonder he seemed to feel misunderstood, because he always was by everyone around him._

_"I am an avenger," he said his tone now more confident and sure. "I must become stronger than him. I don't have time to stumble here." Still, Sasuke didn't move an inch._

_Sakura's eyes widen when she remembered that Sasuke had said he wanted to kill someone. Now she was flat out worried about him. He said he didn't have time to give up, yet he gives her a longwinded (for Sasuke) explanation as to why, and he wasn't leaving. He wasn't acting like himself at all. Sakura was starting to think that Sasuke had been kidnapped and someone was using a henge to look like him._

_Sakura was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of a ringing bell from far off. She knew now that time was up, and that whether he liked it or not, Sasuke had done what Sakura had suggested. Now at least they both failed. She didn't want to be pulling Sasuke down with her, but she didn't want to leave him either, and she clearly wasn't anywhere near as strong as he was. She prepared for Sasuke to call her annoying again for allowing him to talk until time ran out._

_Sasuke turned away from Sakura again. When the timer went off, Sakura hadn't realized that Sasuke was looking at her. She had been too wrapped up in her mind. Inner Sakura banged her head repeatedly against a wall. Sakura now watched Sasuke and braced herself for an insult._

_"Damn it. I wasted my time talking," was his comment in an annoyed tone. Then he walked off, and by his gait, he didn't seem to be in a good mood._

_Sakura was in shock. No insult. No glare. He didn't even say that he wasted his time talking to her, just by talking. Briefly, she wondered whether she was losing her mind, but Inner Sakura angrily reminded her that this was not the case. Even so this was the most open, and nice Sasuke had ever been to her. "Sasuke-kun…" it was quiet, and more to herself than him, and he didn't make any indication that he heard her._

_At least now he seemed to be acting more normal. Their conversation had been absolutely terrifying. Sakura had been worried she'd offend by mentioning some other topic that was a sore spot with him, or that he'd stop talking and walk away, or call her annoying again. Not that Sakura didn't like talking to him, no she loved the rare chances she got, but she wanted to talk to him when he was at least acting normal. He seemed almost possessed._

'This should do it. She didn't see what happened afterwards any differently, and 'Inner Sakura's' commentary wasn't really surprising.' Ino had showed up again, and Sasuke was back in the hospital.

He remembered this incident perfectly this time. He hadn't known that Sakura had given up her hiding place in search of him. He'd assumed that it was by chance that she stumbled in on him after his…encounter with Kakashi. He had already known that she had been caught in a genjutsu, but now knowing what was in it explained why so was so freaked when she only saw his head. He had stayed to make sure she was all right, because he thought she might have hit her head rather hard, and a teammate with a concussion wasn't going to help him at all.

Why he had shared that information with her about his past, though, he didn't know. To this day, he had no clue. Obviously, he wasn't the type to talk about his problems so that had nothing to do with it. If that did help, it seems that Sakura was a good listener, even when she is completely confused. In retrospect, he supposed he should have been more patient with her, since all of her irritating ideas had the right intention behind them. Knowing how her mind worked explained so many of her little habits, and the box she thought in.

Even so, there was no denying her being weak. That much was clear. Intelligence-wise, Sasuke didn't doubt that she was smarter than him, then and now, but when it came to actually fighting, back then she was hopeless. She always kept her guard down.

Kakashi was going on the same list as the dobe. Leaving Sakura in that kind of position was just unacceptable. Even if Kakashi hadn't done anything to her (which Sasuke didn't know, which made him all the angrier), someone else was bound to have done something. After staying with Orochimaru, one must consider these things. That was the moment that Ino decided to speak again.

'This time we will be skipping to about a month from now, Sasuke,' she said slowly so that he would make no mistake in hearing her. Sasuke shut his eyes and prepared for his next voyage into the mind of Sakura.

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**Ok, this might have a lot of chapters, if you guys are getting the general pattern. Since I don't have to study for finals (though I have much more homework) I should be able to update more frequently. Tell me what you think, and civil flames are welcome. Review please/sil vous plait/ porfavor/ kudasai!**


	3. You saved me?

**I know it has been a very long time since I've updated. I'm not going to make excuses, but my life has been very hectic since my last update. I also began to lose hope when it came to SasuSaku. Those in my boat should read the SasuSaku Manifesto by Erendhyl, it is inspiriring.**

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_Team 7 had been stuck doing several D-rank missions for the past month. Babysitting, grocery shopping, returning lost pets, and the like. After returning the daimyo's wife's cat, Tora, to its overly affectionate owner, Naruto had had it. "I want a more exciting mission," he shouted at the Hokage, "Choose something else!" Sakura looked extremely irritated at the outburst. She, for one, wouldn't dare shout at the Sandaime Hokage, and two, yelling at him was going to make him less likely to give them a better mission, not more. 'What a troublesome guy,' she seethed silently._

_ Iruka seemed to agree with Sakura. "Idiot! You're still a novice ninja! Everyone needs to start with easy missions to gain experience!" His yelling seemed to have no effect on Naruto._

_ "But, but...! We've only been doing dumb missions lately!" His rant was forced to an end when Kakashi-sensei punched him on the top of the head, forcing him to the ground._

_ "Cut it out," Kakashi-sensei ordered dully. Sakura couldn't help but agree with Naruto. They had been doing missions that civilian teenagers would do when looking for a job. She was a kunoichi with skills that no civilian could match, damn it, and she wanted to at least use them! She learned them for a reason!_

_ However, the Hokage was not moved. "Naruto! It looks like I need to explain to you what missions are." Sakura listened with rapt attention while the Hokage explained the ranking system of missions. Granted, she had known this from her reading, but there must be a good reason the Hokage was explaining it. She noticed that he didn't even bother to mention the S-rank missions: not like they'd be getting one in the next 5 years. After she heard the Hokage say that their genin team was only going to get D-rank missions for a while, she tuned out. A small form of rebellion, yes, but rebellion all the same._

_ Naruto was saying something about the kind of ramen he was going to have (Sakura wasn't really listening to him either, Inner Sakura was too busy fuming about the humiliating nature of their missions). Apparently, the Hokage was, because he started shouting._

_ "Listen!" Kakashi-sensei apologized, even he had stopped listening by that point. Naruto started pouting and saying how the Hokage always lectured him and that he was more than a kid pulling pranks now. **'Yeah, right.'** To Sakura's amazement, Iruka-senei and the Hokage smiled._

_ "Okay, I understand," the Hokage started, " If you insist, I will allow you to take a C-rank mission. It's to escort a certain person."_

_ At this, Naruto became increasingly excited and began demanding to know who it was. "A princess?" The Hokage ordered the person they were to escort to enter the room. Before the mystery person even finished opening the door, he started yelling._

_ "What? They're only kids!" He finished opening the door to reveal an older mean with a bottle of alcohol in his hands, and buy the looks of it, he had already drank quite a bit of it. To live up to this image, he gulped down several sips in front of them. Team 7 could only stare._

_ Team 7 was walking out of Konoha with this Tazuna guy, and Sakura had to admit that this escort was far from ideal. She had had bad luck with drunk men in the past and she knew that Sasuke-kun wouldn't be much help in stopping it, since he barely acknowledged her. Their little tagteaming moment to show Naruto he was the short one was the only moment he actually worked with her specifically. Kakashi-senei didn't seem the type to start trouble with a client and probably wouldn't come to her rescue. Naruto would have a fit, though. That could come in handy._

_ Speaking of Naruto, he was currently yelling at the client about how he'll become Hokage and that he had better remember him. 'He's like a broken record, would it kill him to talk about anything but himself,' Sakura wondered._

_ After a while, she decided to try her luck at a conversation. "Hey, Tazuna-san," _

_ "What?" _

_ "You're from the Wave Country, right?"_

_ "What about it?" _

_ "Kakashi-senei, are there also ninja in that country?" If so, were they allies or enemies? In the second case, this mission could be far more complicated than expected. Fortunately, her concerns were allayed. _

_ "No, there are no ninja in the Wave Country," he explained, "But, while the customs and culture of other countries may by different, hidden villages and ninjas do exist." He went on to explain just which countries had hidden villages and why, and the villages that had Kages._

_ "Wow, so Hokage-sama must be a great man!' Sakura smiled at the thought, or so it seemed; Inner Sakura had other ideas. **'Is that geezer really the great man he says he is? Sounds fishy...' **After all, Sakura had yet to see him do anything that was all that impressive. Granted, dealing with Naruto on a regular basis and keeping your sanity was award-worthy, but still._

_ Kakahi-sensei suddenly stopped. "Hey, you all just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?" Sakura and Naruto both shook their heads and denied it. Sakura kept in mind that while she may be able to fool most people, Kakashi-senei appeared to be more difficult to trick when it came to what she actually thought. He patted Sakura on the head. "Don't worry, we won't have any ninja battles in a C-rank mission."_

_ "Then there's no worry about meeting a foreign ninja." Sakura was relieved. With her luck, she'd forget a particular custom and get herself attacked over something stupid and an accident. Sasuke-kun looked skeptical for some reason and actually turned around. After that, during their walk, he seemed to gravitate either towards Sakura or Tazuna. Sakura wondered what his problem was, but just assumed he may be nervous. Not like he'd ever tell her that._

_ The next thing she knew, Kakashi-senei was bound in a barbed chain by two ninja dressed oddly and with demonic expressions. She was beyond confused. What in the world was going on? Everything was fine a second ago, and what happened to not having ninja battles? 'What should I do?' The two ninja pulled on the chain and cut Kakashi-senei to bits. His innards fell in a bloody pile. Sakura leapt back and screamed in horror._

_ The enemy ninja then went after Naruto with their chains blazing. He seemed frozen in fear. Out of nowhere, Sasuke-kun jumped above everything and pinned the chains to a nearby tree with a shuriken and kunai, making them unable to reach Naruto. He then landed on the arms of the enemy ninja and kicked them both in face., causing the chains to pull from their sockets. Now free, one headed straight for Tazuna and the other towards Naruto. Sakura remembered that the mission was to protect Tazuna. 'He's coming...I have to do it, I have to do it!" She threw herself in front of Tazuna with her kunai out and ordered him to stay back. The ninja was coming right at her, but she was ready and waiting until he was in range. Suddenly, Sasuke-kun flung himself in front of her with his arms spread out to cover her as completely as he could. He hadn't even pulled out a weapon of any sort in his haste. For the life of her, Sakura could not figure out why he was protecting her, Naruto appeared to be in more trouble at the moment. Before the ninja could even lay a finger on anyone, Kakashi-senei trapped them both under his arms, one for each. "Hey."_

_ Sakura grinned and shouted his name in relief that he was alive. Sasuke-kun looked irritated for some reason, though. Naruto looked confused and glanced back to Kakashi-senei's "body." It was a pile of chopped of wood. He apparently used the kawarimi technique when they weren't looking. Kakashi-senei then apologized to Naruto for not helping him out and saying he thought he'd be able to move. He then approached Sasuke-kun and Sakura and praised them on doing a good job._

_ Sakura knew that Naruto had to be feeling rather embarrassed. However, Sasuke-kun went and made it worse. "Hey, are you hurt, Mr. Scaredy Cat?" Sakura found this to be unnecessary and rather rude. Before Naruto could respond, Kakashi-sensei told him that he needed to get the poison out of Naruto's system and that he couldn't move too much in the meantime. He also explained how he had known about the ninja's presence and that, since Tazuna lied on the mission request form, this was actually a high B-rank mission. And, since the Hokage said that those were for Chuunin and Jounin..._

_ "This mission is out of our league," Sakura realized, "Let's quit! We need anesthesia to take the poisoned blood out of Naruto too. We need to go back to the village and see a doctor!" They were never taught much in the way of medical ninjutsu in the academy, so unless Kakashi-senei was a medic nin, no one could really do much about Naruto. Kakashi-senei agreed, while saying that it was irritating. What happened next was almost as surprising as the Kiri ninja appearing out of nowhere._

_ Naruto stabbed himself in his injured hand. Everyone, even Sasuke-kun looked surprised, looked on in shock. Sakura was the first to recover. "Naruto, what are you doing?" Now, not only was he poisoned, he was losing a fair amount of blood. He was declaring something about not losing to Sasuke and protecting Tazuna and that they were still doing the mission. Kakashi-sensei informed him that, while poison was no longer and issue, now death by blood loss was. Naruto began to freak out at this, yelling how he can't die like this. Sakura was getting more irritated by his antics by the second. "Naruto, you have such a self-abusing personality. That's called masochism, you know."_

Ino said nothing, so Sasuke assumed that this memory was far from over. He remembered the event well. In retrospect, he wonder why he did choose to protect Sakura over Naruto. Sure, Sakura was by Tazuna and he was the one they were supposed to be protecting, so that aspect made sense. However, Sakura appeared capable of at least defending herself for a few seconds while Naruto was frozen and he got hurt. Not that he would tell anyone, but he hadn't actually had a plan when he threw himself in front of Sakura and Tazuna, it was more of instinct guiding him. Sakura had noticed that he wasn't armed, which was a valid point. After all, Sakura was the second best in their class at the academy, surpassed only by him, so she must have been able to do something.

He also realized that Sakura was not just a prissy, polite girl. She actually did doubt what authority figures told her, and even themselves, yet she let on that if someone had a title, they must be amazing. Did she still do that? Perhaps Ino had had a point, Sakura was not as she seemed.

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**This arc is going to take a few chapters, so if it seems dull at the moment, it'll liven up. I'm probably going to be more inclined to update with reviews, so please tell me what you think!  
**


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